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The Fanfiction Project
The Fanfiction Project (FFP) is a large work of fanfiction that casts the GameFAQs contest as an actual tournament in which the 64 selected characters compete. Every individual poll corresponds to a battle between two characters, the winner of the fight being determined by the poll results. Additionally many fics (known as 'Village' fics) do not deal with battles, but develop characters or establish subplots. The FFP has seen several iterations as contests come and go, the first and most complete of which was written during the 2003 Summer Contest. Origins The FFP started out as a solo project by Sir Bormun in the weeks leading up to the beginning of the 2003 Summer Contest. "64 chairs were set out on the lawn," began his first post, and he detailed the arrival of a few characters who were summoned to the tournament. BigCow soon began to contribute his own works, and the topic snowballed as more authors joined the fray. Soon enough longterm plotlines were forged and the fics became lengthier and more epic in scope. The FFP was born. SC2k3 The first and largest FFP. Mainstay authors include Sir Bormun, BigCow, Furious J, Funkadelict, StopPokingMe, DanBonezTheThird and Aeon Azuran, with much support (and more than a few guest fics) from Jjukil. It is complete up to Link vs. Cloud, for which BigCow has written the prematch and is rumored to be working on today! Notable plot points from the first FFP included the gradual corruption of returning champion Link, a subtle romantic relationship between Solid Snake and Samus, Sephiroth continually plotting against everyone (a point of controversy for the project), and Magus being continually awesome. The tournament between the 64 characters took place at a mysterious world called the "Porta Dei," and the characters' interactions (sometimes serious, sometimes humorous) made up the bulk of the project. Cromage has an archive of everything from the first FFP here. SC2k4 With few matches left to go from 2003, the writing team publicly debated how to go about the matter of writing the inevitable 2004 FFP, inviting readers to pose questions on how to handle the new contest when the end of the old contest had not been written yet (especially problematic because Link, whose exit had not yet been penned for 2003, was in the first match). Eventually the team seemed to decide upon starting the 2004 FFP but stating that certain characters were mysteriously absent, thus allowing them the luxury of continuing to write new material. However, the writing team - despite holding auditions and taking on several new writers (IF SOMEONE HAS A LIST OF THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT) - was dismayed at the bracket and its lack of compelling matches (Vyse beating Laharl, Knuckles beating Kefka, Cloud facing Sephiroth again, etc.). This, coupled by the slow inactivity of the 2003 FFP, led to the project's downfall, and apart from a few fics it was never completed. Sp2k5 An FFP devoted to the spring villains contest, run by Sir Bormun with a writing team of Furious J, Aeon Azuran, Funkadelict, Mild Guy, RamzaB, Cromage, and sephsblade. Its plot centered around all 32 villains being pulled from their worlds (and, in many cases, their world's aferlife) to wander, alone, in a vast desert. The project's tone was often more somber than prior writing projects, fitting for a set of stories about villains, some of whom were given sympathetic treatment (notably Lavos, the villain from Chrono Trigger, whom Bormun made into a surprisingly sympathetic character). The project almost made it to the first half of the first round. No archive currently exists. SC2k5 A direct descendant of the 2005 project and a replacement for the failed 2004 FFP (which, canonically, never happened). Regular authors have included Furious J (the only regular team member from the original project), swirldude, sephsblade, Shdwdde, Sir Chris, Karma Hunter and Ed Bellis, with numerous guest authors. The plotline is meant to directly continue from the 2003 project, as the characters deal with the odd absence of Link, Cloud, and Sephiroth. The project moved rather slowly and seemed to stop completely towards the end of Round One. The archive can be found here. SC2k6 The current project, another chapter in the Porta Dei storyline, with a writing team including Sir Bormun, Ed Bellis, Funkadelict, swirldude, sephsblade, satai_delenn, and numerous guest authors. The storyline thus far has changed the nature of the Porta Dei; instead of a large, naturalistic setting, the tournament dimension is now called "Dayport," a sprawling metropolis run by corporations, which has met with some mixed reactions by the competitors. Updates have been periodic and thus far the team seems to be keeping pace. The archive can be found here. Other Projects Apart from the "official" Fanfiction Projects, there have also been numerous attempts by other writing teams (or, in some cases, single writers) to write fanfic about the contests. These projects were often met with mixed success, as people inevitably flocked to the "official FFP" topics, but they managed to produce some excellent material regardless. Like the FFPs themselves, none of these were ever finished. Vs. Mode: Started by GunMage, Vs. Mode was an attempt to write another set of fanfiction for the 2k3 contest, but the fics were more combat-oriented than the FFP (hence the name), with fights narrated by Brock from Pokemon and Lucca from Chrono Trigger. The team also grew to include Seijun, RamzaB, Latios of Twilight and Zu Long, with several guest writers. Vs. Mode made it to the end of Round 2, and contains some notable matches which, in Ed Bellis's humble opinion, are actually much better than their FFP counterparts (specifically Kirby vs. Ramza and KOS-MOS vs. Samus). Vs. Mode recently retured for an outing in 2006, although the project seems to have stalled early off the ground. The Vs. Mode archive can be found here. Sovereign Threads: Started by MWIS, this was an ambitious attempt to write fanfiction for the Sping 2004 games contest, with the "universes" of various games colliding in sometimes violent ways. Like many MWIS projects, it did not go particulary far, although the writing team - which included AlliterationMan, Cromage, GunMage, Mousse, RamzaB, Seijun, and smitelf - did manage to create an impressive first round of the 8-Bit Division. The Sovereign Threads archive can be found here. Grand Dream: Before Sir Bormun announced that a new 2005 FFP would be forthcoming, Daredevil3181 took it upon himself to write his own 2005 fanfiction, with a lighter tone than the "official" FFP (although some matches, like Ganondorf vs. Yuna, would prove quite serious). The plot concerned Link, Cloud, and Sephiroth hosting a tournament and interacting with a mysterious hooded figure; the three appeared to absorb the souls of the losers. The project stopped around the middle of the first round, unfortunately, and I don't know of any archive. Cloud and Squall's Solo 2005 Fanfiction: Another solo 2005 effort, Cloud and Squall (one user) attempted to write an entire project by himself, detailing the 64 characters' capture by three mysterious beings in an attempt to determine the strongest being in the multiverse. Though it was often marred by poor grammar and spelling, the project had a loyal following, and Cloud and Squall recently began a new, lighter version called "Club Comedia," with the characters battling through stand-up comedy. Fatalis Populous: This year, Cloud and Squall started another FFP, but this time it is a group effort. The project is about a mysterious organization experimenting on Link, Cloud, Sephiroth, and Mario. In order to get "optimal conditions," they host a tournament involving 64 people, offering them their greatest desires. The writers include Cloud and Squall, ZenOfThunder, ShadowHalo17, ThisIsAnOddName, and Cahb42584. The project is still ongoing and updates at a steady pace. External Links * FFP 2003 * FFP 2005 * FFP 2006 * Vs. Mode (2003) * Sovereign Threads (2004) Category: Board Projects